P2P Money Bloghttp://blog.p2pmoney.co.uk/?tempskin=_atomb2evolution2017-08-18T03:16:50ZP2P money blog wins an awardeasteregghttp://www.p2pmoney.co.ukhttp://blog.p2pmoney.co.uk/p2p-money-blog-wins-award2017-07-19T12:39:00Z2017-07-19T12:39:03ZThe P2P money website blog has been awarded one of the Top 100 P2P Lending Blogs on the web.

Anuj Agarwal, founder of Feedspot, wrote "I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 P2P Lending Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!"

Ian Gurney, founder of P2P money, stated "This is a great achievement to be recognised as one of the Top 100 P2P Lending Blogs given our focus on the UK market".

RateSetter has emailed all of their lenders concerning three borrowers. We have redacted some of this information for confidentiality.

On 2 May 2017, we announced on our blog that we had changed our relationship with two of our borrowers. We are writing to you today with more information about this and to let you know why RateSetter has intervened over and above the usual course of business with three of its borrowers.

Why is RateSetter providing this information?

We believe it is important for all our lenders to be comfortable with their investment and aware of the risks of investing with RateSetter on an ongoing basis. If you feel this information changes your investment, we are giving you the option to review your investment with us and sell out without incurring any fees. This offer is available to you for the next month.

RateSetter has intervened directly with three borrowers as follows.

V****** T****** Group Limited, a motor finance holding company: this company went into administration because it had taken on too much debt. RateSetter bought the two operating subsidiaries in order to best protect our lenders’ interests. They are Vehicle Credit Limited (which makes loans to consumers to buy cars) and Vehicle Stocking Limited (which makes loans to motor dealerships to buy cars). We intend to expand our motor finance lending capabilities by integrating the two businesses into RateSetter product lines, with lenders matched directly to the end borrowers. The businesses are repaying their existing wholesale loans of £24m (VCL) and £12m (VSL) as their end borrowers repay in line with the loan schedules. The loans are secured on the underlying loan portfolios of these two businesses which total £31m. These portfolios are expected to generate sufficient interest throughout their lifetime to repay these wholesale loans in full.

A**** Limited, an advertising company: In 2015, V****** T****** Group used £12m of wholesale lending from RateSetter to lend to A**** Limited. A**** was poorly managed and got into financial difficulty. As lending this amount to a single business was outside RateSetter’s credit policy and was an exceptional case, we believed it was right for RateSetter as a company to intervene and absorb any losses from this loan, as opposed to the Provision Fund doing so. RateSetter is doing this by standing behind A****’s monthly loan repayments until the money is fully repaid. The amount outstanding is now £8.5m. A**** is now fully owned by RateSetter.

G***** B**** Limited, a consumer guarantor loan specialist: RateSetter obtained a minority equity share of this business, with the intention of changing the wholesale lending arrangement into one where RateSetter investors would lend directly to G***** B**** borrowers. However, after further examination, we concluded that we would not continue with this strategy. RateSetter will remain a supportive but passive shareholder in the business. G***** B**** is repaying its existing loans of £32m as its end borrowers repay in line with the loan schedules.

These three interventions all stem from RateSetter’s wholesale lending which we discontinued in December 2016 and we do not intend to intervene like this again. The expected default rate on RateSetter’s outstanding lending is unaffected and stands at 2.9 per cent, and currently we estimate that the Provision Fund is large enough to cover all Expected Future Losses.

The option to review your investment with a free sell-out

We are giving everyone, not just the lenders who are matched to these specific borrowers, the opportunity to review their investment, as all investors are exposed to the performance of the loan book as a whole. The Provision Fund effectively spreads each lender’s risk across the whole loan book, you are exposed to the performance of the book as a whole - not that loan specifically.

If you would like to sell out of your investment with RateSetter without incurring a fee, please email us. This offer will last for one month, from 18th July to 17th August 2017. We would like to point out that sell-outs are always subject to there being other funds in the market to replace funds withdrawing from loan contracts.

RateSetter did have to because if they didn't the Provision Fund would have been able to cover this, but this would leave it so depleated that it would be unable to cover other expected defaults. The reaction on the P2P Independent Forum was of some concern, with some lenders expressing their wish to exit the market, but given the current oversupply, this could simply restore some of the balance between lenders and borrowers.

Peer-to-peer lending platform Crowd2Fund have announced that they are launching secured property lending which is available to sit inside their Innovative Finance ISA.

Here is their full press release:

Crowd2Fund have launched a new property loan product, secured against commercial or residential property, which qualifies for inclusion within the platform’s IFISA.

The new loan vehicle is targeted at businesses which own property, or directors who are willing to offer their property as security. Loans are between £100K and £1 million and loans will typically last for a duration of three to five years and carry an estimated APR between 6%-8% before fees and bad debts.

The only associated fees for investors are the Repayment Fee, set at 1% of the value of repayments, which is collected from each repayment.

Benefits To Investors

Diversification

The Crowd2Fund property loan is the latest addition to the range of debt products already offered by the platform. These include standard loans, revenue loans, bonds and venture debt.

The introduction of the property loan allows investors to further diversify and personalise their portfolios, according to their risk appetite and individual goals. Investors can invest as little as £100 into property loans.

The property loan enhances diversification opportunities by being a comparatively lower risk vehicle that will accompany the higher risk products available, such as Venture Debt.

Even though interest rates are lower with property secured investments, funds should be spread across different products and companies to help mitigate the risk of defaults.

All businesses go through a thorough due diligence procedure. Nevertheless, all campaigns on the platform carry their own, unique risk. There have been zero defaults on the platform to date.

Investors may choose to spread their investments across both secured property loans and high growth sector businesses, which carry a higher interest rate, but in which an investor might have a personal interest.

Furthermore, property loans are included within the IFISA, which has an allowance of £20,000 in the 2017/8 tax year, thus enjoying the added benefit of sheltering interest repayments from tax.

Secured Against A Property

All businesses which run a property loan campaign are required to let Crowd2Fund take a charge over their tangible assets. The value of the secured property must cover 100% of the total loan value.

This means that if the business defaults on their loan, the property will be taken and sold to repay investors.

Property loans are lower risk in comparison to unsecured loans. However, it should be noted that there is a risk that the property may not retain its original valuation and that it may take time to sell it.

Simple And Transparent Structure

We want the concept of property loans to be simple for businesses and investors to understand.

We understand that investors may prefer to allocate their funds to a loan which is secured against bricks and mortar. The reason for this is that it is easy to understand the value of property as there is an active market in which to sell, not to mention that property belongs to an established and trusted asset class.

As with a loan, businesses repay investors interest and capital on a monthly basis. This amortises over time; this means that investors are repaid the same amount of money each month, but the interest will decrease as the principle repayment increases. For example, should a repayment be £10, £5 will be interest, £5 will be principal. A second repayment will still be £10, but the interest will reduce to, say, £4.50, and the principal will increase to £5.50, and so on with each repayment. You can understand more about amortisation here:

Investors are welcome to manage and track their property investments through their personal dashboard on Crowd2Fund.

Access Your Capital By Selling To Others On The Exchange

Property loans can be bought and sold on the Exchange. Selling your property loan means investors are able to access their capital by selling it to others.

This makes investors’ investments more liquid, whilst giving investors the opportunity to sell at marginal profits.

Additionally, utilising the Exchange will give investors further opportunity to diversify their portfolios by purchasing additional loans.

Chris Hancock, Crowd2Fund CEO, explains: “The launch of our property loan gives investors access to an asset class which has performed steadily over time and is easy to understand. These asset-backed loans are likely to be popular with P2P crowdfunding investors new to the market due to the perception of them being less risky than standard loans, which do not have security taken out on them.”

The first property backed loan on the platform is set to be a £300,000 campaign for Mark Marengo, a Savile Row tailor focused on exporting sharp-cut tailoring internationally.

Wellesley & Co have announced that they are suspending peer-to-peer lending on the platform. The reason for this is likely due to pressure from the FCA to change their business model.

Below is a copy of the email sent to lenders:

As we progress towards full authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), we are making some changes to our product range over the coming months. We want to make sure that you are aware of the changes and whether these will affect you.

From 31st May 2017, Wellesley & Co will not be accepting any additional investment into the existing Peer-to-Peer Lending products and we will be launching a new Peer-to-Peer lending product in Q3 which will offer different features for customers. The new Peer-to-Peer lending product will no longer provide a fixed rate of interest with a fixed term period. This period will allow us to continue to work behind the scenes on developing the new product and bring it to market. The new Peer-to-Peer lending product will no longer provide a fixed rate of interest with a fixed term period.

How does this affect existing Peer-to-Peer investments?

As a Wellesley & Co customer, any existing Peer-to-Peer lending investment will remain under its current terms until its contractual maturity. This means that it does not affect your existing investments and you do not have to take any action on your account.

It is important to note the features of the new products as they will be different to your existing Peer-to-Peer lending investment.

Over the coming months, we will be developing our systems and portal in order to continue providing access to investments from Wellesley Group companies that offer you, the opportunity to invest your funds for attractive returns.

ArchOver have announced they have received full authorisation from the FCA, a day after Funding Circle.

Below is a copy of the email sent to customers:

We are pleased to announce that ArchOver has secured full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

To date, we have facilitated over £35 million of investment through the ArchOver platform, operating under interim permissions granted by the FCA.

Lending via the ArchOver platform continues as normal. Lender security remains our primary focus, alongside the ability to help fund UK SMEs by offering suitable and reliable lending against a company’s assets. Receiving approval is a testament to the quality and credibility of our platform, procedures and recovery processes, and will allow us to continue to accelerate our growth plans and deliver more projects to the platform.

For those of you that may have been waiting for full authorisation before lending across our platform, we encourage you to log in to view the latest ‘Secured & Insured’ project which is offering 6.5% p.a.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Below is a copy of the press release:

ArchOver, the peer-to-peer (P2P) business lending platform, has secured full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as a P2P lending platform (Article 36H). Since launching in September 2014, ArchOver has facilitated over £35 million of investment over its platform, operating under interim permissions granted by the FCA. Full authorisation will support ArchOver in attracting new lenders to the platform and allow it to continue working with businesses to make access to funding as easy and simple as possible.

“There is great satisfaction in gaining a stamp of approval. Our industry leading policies and procedures will allow us to take alternative forms of lending to the next level,” commented Angus Dent, CEO at ArchOver. “At a time when investors are experiencing low interest rates and banks are tightening the purse-strings, P2P lending offers a unique and much needed service. Incorporating the most successful elements of P2P lending into the regulations and strategy of the FCA is critical to raising awareness and protecting the long-term success of the industry.”

As a fully authorised P2P lending platform, ArchOver can operate on a level regulatory playing field and focus on expanding its community of investors to achieve its ambition of facilitating £500 million of lending within the next five years. With no borrower defaults, late payments or losses in nearly three years of operations, ArchOver delivers an above-industry-average return of 7.24% to investors.

Backed by the Hampden Group, ArchOver has developed two asset-based lending services allowing UK SME’s to borrow against Accounts Receivable and/or recurring contracted revenue. Its experienced management and credit team carefully vet borrowers and monitor the performance of businesses and assets every month. ArchOver also partners with Coface, the world-leading provider of credit insurance and debt recovery services, to offer additional security.

“From the first day of operations, we’ve placed lender security at the heart of our business model to exceed any potential compliance requirements,” commented Ian Anderson, Chief Operating Officer at ArchOver, who has been closely involved in the authorisation process with the FCA. “This attitude meant we have not had to change our primary working practices in order to comply with regulation. While we have waited a long time to gain this recognition, we always believed that it was in the best interests of ArchOver, and the sector in general, that the FCA take the necessary time to ensure the process was thorough and fair.”

Funding Circle has announced it has received full authorsiation from the FCA, two weeks after Zopa.

Below is a copy of the email sent to customers:

We are very pleased to to announce that Funding Circle has today received full authorisation from the FCA.

The news comes as we become the largest UK platform (having overtaken Zopa last week in terms of total lending).

There are now over 60,000 retail investors lending directly to small businesses through Funding Circle. Since launching in 2010, they have earned an average return of 6.5% per year and a total of £116 million in net interest.

To manage risk, investors lend small amounts to hundreds of different businesses, all of whom are first assessed by an experienced credit team. Investors also have the option to access money early by selling loan parts to other investors on Funding Circle’s secondary market.

Please get in touch if of interest.

Below is a copy of the press release:

Funding Circle, the world’s leading direct lending platform for small businesses, has today become fully authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Launched in 2010, Funding Circle allows people and organisations to lend to small businesses, offering investors attractive and stable returns whilst supporting the backbone of the British economy.

By bringing together industry leading risk management and cutting edge technology, investors have earned an average 6.5% per year* and £116 million of net interest over the last seven years.

The news puts Funding Circle in a position to be able to launch an Innovative Finance ISA, subject to approval by HMRC.

James Meekings, UK Managing Director and co-founder said: “Our vision is to support thousands of people across the UK to earn stable, industry leading returns by lending directly to small businesses. With more than 60,000 investors now regularly lending through Funding Circle, we are on track to becoming a mainstream investment choice for investors up and down the country.”

Funding Circle facilitates lending to small businesses from a wide range of investors including 60,000 individuals, local authorities, the UK government-owned British Business Bank, the European Investment Bank and financial institutions such as pension funds. Investors have now lent more than £2.3 billion to over 24,000 businesses.

The world's first peer-to-peer lending company Zopa has announced it has received full authorisation from the FCA. Zopa launched the concept of peer-to-peer lending in March 2005 and remains one of the leading platforms in the UK. Zopa becomes the first of the top tier peer-to-peer platforms to receive full authorisation which would allow it to apply to HMRC for permission to launch an Innovative Finance ISA.

Here is the statement on the Zopa blog:

Zopa, the pioneering financial services business, announces that it has today been granted full authorisation by the FCA for peer-to-peer lending (Article 36H).

Giles Andrews, co-founder and Chairman of Zopa commented: “Zopa, both individually and as a founder member of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA), has campaigned for peer-to-peer lending to be a regulated activity for a number of years. We are delighted to receive our full FCA authorisation.”

Jaidev Janardana, Zopa’s CEO, said: “The authorisation process has been rigorous and in-depth and involved extensive scrutiny of our business. We will continue to focus on serving UK borrowers and investors through our market-leading products and best-in-class customer experience. In addition, we are also working towards applying for a banking license which will allow us to offer great customer choice whether you are spending, borrowing, saving or investing”.

Full Authorisation from the FCA is a pre-requisite for Zopa to offer the Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISA). Following notification that Zopa has been granted full authorisation, it will seek permission from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to become an ISA Manager. Further details of the launch of Zopa’s Innovative Finance ISA will be announced following the HMRC’s decision.